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BASEBALL; Lofton Says He's Happy To Be a New Yankee

The much-traveled center fielder Kenny Lofton officially joined the Yankees yesterday, and he immediately said he would blend in to give them a better chance to win the World Series.

''If they want me to park cars, I'll do that,'' Lofton said in a telephone conference call with reporters.

Lofton, 36, who signed a two-year contract worth $6.2 million, was not brought in by George Steinbrenner, the principal owner, to be a valet. Lofton is a ripple-raising leadoff hitter, the kind the Yankees have not had in a while.

''It kind of flows behind you in the order,'' Lofton said.

With the official addition of Lofton and the right-handed reliever Tom Gordon, who signed a two-year, $7.25 million deal, the Yankees are one backup first baseman away from completing their 25-man roster.

Gordon is expected to be a right-handed setup man for the Yankees' closer, Mariano Rivera, perhaps with the rehabilitating Steve Karsay and certainly with the newly acquired Paul Quantrill. Gordon said yesterday that four other teams wanted to sign him as a closer, but that he wanted to pitch for the Yankees, even if it meant a setup role.

Meanwhile, the Mets have apparently lost out on the free-agent outfielder Brian Jordan. Jim Turner, Jordan's agent, said Jordan was ''extra close'' to a deal with another club, which Turner would not name.

''I would clearly expect it not to be the Mets,'' Turner said. The 36-year-old Jordan is a solid veteran hitter, but he is coming off knee surgery that cost him half of the 2003 season, and the Mets were ambivalent about making him the starting right fielder in 2004.

So the Mets' search goes on -- for a right fielder, a closer and, probably, another starting pitcher.

Meanwhile, Todd Walker, who as the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox last season was part of the best offense in baseball, signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs -- a one-year deal worth $1.75 million. Walker is not known for his fielding prowess, but he is a capable left-handed hitter, and the Cubs, with a lineup filled with right-handed bats, needed one.

As for Lofton, it will be interesting to see how he fits into his fifth team in three seasons.

It is widely thought that Lofton, a left-handed hitter with 4 Gold Gloves and 538 stolen bases, will replace Bernie Williams in center field, with Williams becoming the Yankees' everyday designated hitter.

''They said they want me to play center field,'' Lofton said. ''I am a center fielder and they know that.''

Yankees Manager Joe Torre said last week that he would make the decision on who plays center, but Williams, 35, is coming off a season in which he missed 42 games after knee surgery and hit .263, his lowest batting average since 1994.

Lofton, who hit a combined .296 with Pittsburgh and the Chicago Cubs last season and nearly made it to the World Series, tactfully tried to dodge questions yesterday about replacing Williams, who has a .305 career batting average and 241 home runs in 11 seasons with the Yankees.

Lofton said he had not talked to Williams about taking over for him in center. And in his comments, Lofton seemed to be more excited about joining the Yankees than worried about finding a role, whatever it turns out to be.

Lofton said several other teams were interested in him. The San Diego Padres offered Lofton a contract earlier this month. But Lofton said the Yankees' interest, to use his word, astonished him.

''My common goal right now is to get a ring,'' said Lofton, who has come close with Cleveland, Atlanta, San Francisco and the Cubs.

Gordon, too, wants a ring and believes that the Yankees will give him the best, and perhaps his last, chance to win one. He said Tampa Bay, Oakland, Toronto and the White Sox had talked to him about being their closer. The Yankees did not, but it did not matter.

''Once I got the news from my agent that he was talking to the Yankees and how the team would prefer for me to be a setup man, there was no doubt I would do it for the Yankees,'' Gordon said.

Gordon, 36, was 7-6 with 12 saves for the White Sox last season. He had 91 strikeouts in 74 innings and said he ''felt like my old self again'' for perhaps the first time since he had reconstructive surgery on his elbow.